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'06 Alumacraft Dominator 165CS performance

Question

cashcrews 0

cashcrews 0

In June I purchased a 2006 Alumacraft Dominator 165CS and powered it with the 90hp Evinrude E-tec (max hp is 90.) It's a great fishing platform with the primary attributes being that it's very wide and stable in the water. As far as top-end performance, it seems to be a bit of a disappointment over what I had anticipated. She seems to push lots of water (meaning it rides with a lot of boat contacting the water surface.) Top end speed was about 33-36mph depending on the props tried (Hustler Alum., OEM Alum., Turbo SS in both 17 and 15 pitches.)

We're getting to the end of the boating season, and I might be able to try another prop or two, but I'm starting to think that I've probably reached max performance characteristics for this particular design of boat. I'm thinking it probably could have been rated for 115, which may help to improve the ride characteristics.

Is anyone else running a similar setup, and if so what have you found for performance?

Cashcrews

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23 answers to this question

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Fishing Junky 0

Fishing Junky 0

Hey Cash. Got to ask the obvious first. Are you trimming your motor up after you get on plane? What rpm's are you getting with the props that you have tried? Is your motor sitting right on the transom?

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cashcrews 0

cashcrews 0

I'm trimming the motor up quite a bit to try and gain bow lift, etc. RPM's have been low with almost all the props tried. The 90 E-tec is rated for 4500-5500. Most of those props are in the 4600-5200 range. Best overall performance has been with a SS Turbo 15 which got me about 5000 rpms. I had the dealer adjust the height of the motor through all the positions with all the props tested.

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cashcrews 0

cashcrews 0

I'm not really sure how hole shot is measured or evaluated, as this is my first boat of this type (everything previous was at best a glorified 14-footer.)

It seems to get on plane within a few seconds, then I start trimming it up until the motor starts ventilating. The wake is generally flat out the back, but the boat drags a lot on the water it seems; so there's lots of spray off the sides of the boat.

According to Alumacraft website, the boat is 1175# empty, and the engine is 320 lbs. Tests are done with a full fuel tank, 23 gal.; one person and typical fishing gear in the boat.

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Fishing Junky 0

Fishing Junky 0

It seems to me that you are close to where you should be with what you told me. I checked the specifications of your boat on the Alumacraft website, man is that thing wide. Meaning more water drag. I would say everything is normal for what you have been trying. I agree a 115hp limit would be good for that boat. I would try a 13 pitch prop and raise the engine a hole or two. All props are not created equal, so what brand is best I wouldn't know. Look under the bottom of the boat and check for any dents in the hull. Check it well. I doubt there is any damage, but hey, ya never know. I would try and max out my rpm's with just me in the boat and say 1/2 tank of gas and my gear. I'm not an expert by any means, just tryin' to help ya out.

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Northlander 73

Northlander 73

Get weight towards the back of the boat. That dominator with a 90 will probably only get upper 30's. The Dominator is a tank in the water. Not the best hull design if ya ask me. The 2xb hull adds a lot of up front weight.

I run a 115 yamaha on a Lund Explorer and only top out at 43mph with a half tank and me in the boat.40 with 2 guys and full tank. So I doubt you will get over 40 with the Dominator.

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cashcrews 0

cashcrews 0

Lwn, my thoughts exactly. I think it may just be the design of the boat (being so wide) that is causing the way it rides in the water. If there was one thing I would like to improve, it would be the bow lift. Speed isn't that much of a concern to me.

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Fishing Junky 0

Fishing Junky 0

I'm not really sure how hole shot is measured or evaluated, as this is my first boat of this type (everything previous was at best a glorified 14-footer.)

It seems to get on plane within a few seconds, then I start trimming it up until the motor starts ventilating. The wake is generally flat out the back, but the boat drags a lot on the water it seems; so there's lots of spray off the sides of the boat.

According to Alumacraft website, the boat is 1175# empty, and the engine is 320 lbs. Tests are done with a full fuel tank, 23 gal.; one person and typical fishing gear in the boat.

Cash, If you seem to get on plane in a few seconds and your wake is pretty much flat behind you, that is a pretty good plane to me. What I don't understand is the part were you think you are plowing. Your wake would be pretty high if that was the case. Do you have a couple big trolling motor batteries in front of your boat?

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cashcrews 0

cashcrews 0

The only weight of any substance up front is a single deep cycle battery and the trolling motor. When I'm on plane, the visible spray on the sides of the boat seems to start even or forward of the drivers console. This results in a wet ride under certain conditions. In most boats, it seems like that spray should be a bit further back.

Cashcrews

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Fishing Junky 0

Fishing Junky 0

If you leave your email, I will let ya know who to talk to on a prop. I'm sure it's the same guy Northlander might steer ya too. Like in my previous post though, I would raise the motor and max out my rpm's. When you raise the motor, it will be easier for you to get the prop to cavitate because of the heavy hull weight, so make sure you get a prop that really holds in the water to help prevent this. Do you have a trim gauage and tach? If so, how far can you trim up bebore the prop start to cavitate? Junky...

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JDM 0

JDM 0

I have a 17 ft, 8 inch Starcraft Starfish, which is pretty wide and deep, powered by a 115 Optimax. The original prop gave me 44 mph alone in the boat, but if I put three guys, full gas tank, full live wells, and gear in it, then it was slow out of the hole and I could get 36 to 38 MPH. I went from a 13 x 19 prop to a 13.125 x 17 prop (aluminum) and my RPM's only marginally increased. However, my hole shot with a heavy load is MUCH better. My top end with a light load is now 42 and didn't change with a heavy load. For me, it is about how slow I can go. I went from a 2.9 MPH from trolling speed to 2.3. My back trolling speed went from 1.2 to .9, all GPS with nothing to slow me down (wind or drift sock). From what I have seen, our boats are similar, so you are probably getting what you can expect with the 90 horse.

I was actually considering a 15 pitch prop to see what that would do. My goals are hole shot, trolling speed, and how well it holds in rough water. I am not looking to win any races.

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lawman 6

lawman 6

I have a 6yr old Aluma Craft Magnum CS with a 4stroke 115HP. Went for years trying to figure out why it was such a dog. It was the prop. The dealer had changed it out once for me but not enough of a change. This summer I went from a 21 pitch to an 18....what a difference. Went from top end 36MPH to over 42MPH and I havn't hit the top end yet.

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Giant_Jackpot 0

Giant_Jackpot 0

Where did you buy the boat? I would think the dealer should be able to tell you what to expect for speed. I just picked up a 185 Navigator from Dan’s Marine and they were right on the money with respect to top end and trolling (idle) speed. I had the correct prop first time out……

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cashcrews 0

cashcrews 0

I got the boat from a reputable dealer here in Duluth. They've been great as far as giving me props to try and adjusting motor height, etc. The problem for me, is that the Dominator was newly designed for this year, so there aren't that many people that have it yet. I'm hoping there's someone else on FM that has got this boat and might be able to compare notes...

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PerchJerker 0

PerchJerker 0

I am not familiar with your boat but previously had a couple Alumacrafts.

Call Alumacraft and talk to them, in particular talk to Vern if he is still there.

The first thing I would do is talk to them about props, but after that .......

Alumacraft leaves a small "flap" or "overhang' of hull past the back of the transom. It probably doesn't look like much but it's probably there. They (or you) can use this flap to adjust how the hull rides ---- specifically it can be hammered up a little for a few feet on each side of the keel to create less drag and give more bow lift. That might be just what you need.

I wouldn't try it myself, but I would talk to Alumacraft about how your boat is running and see what they suggest. Good luck.

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MIDNIGHT777 0

MIDNIGHT777 0

I have the Dominator 175 CS with 140 Johnson 4 Stroke (max is 150). I have it loaded down pretty good with 2 trolling motors, 3 batteries, 2 anchors, ect. I was a little disapointed with the top end speed also. I can get 40--43 (gps) with 2 people and a half tank of gas and gear. I was only disapointed because Alumacraft says 40 mph with a 115 hp engine. Now, I have not experienced with different props, but next year I am going to.

I thought the E-tec was supposed to be the best of both worlds.........fuel economy of 4 stroke, holeshot/top end of 2 stroke?

Hope this helps...Matt

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Giant_Jackpot 0

Giant_Jackpot 0

Just to put a little perspective on things… When I was contemplating putting a 140 vs. 150 in the 185 Navigator, the dealer told me the 150 would get me about 5 mph over the 140. He also told that when he upgraded his 175 Tournament Pro form 150 to 175 he only got 3 mph increase in top speed. Just because you make what might seem like a big jump in HP does not necessarily mean you will get a lot of speed. There are others in this thread that can explain all of this way better than I can (engine displacement and other things). If it helps you at all, I had a 2000 Crestliner 1750 Fish Hawk tiller with a 70hp 4 stroke Suzuki and I could get 33 mph with full fuel (26 gallons), 2 guys, 4 Trojan batteries and all the fishing gear……. I hate to say it but after considering all the numbers, I would expect your boat to go faster than it is but I’m no expert…..

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hydro 65

hydro 65

In one of the posts above you mentioned that the spray line is in front of the console at WOT. While that may be normal for your hull and simply a function of the boat width and horsepower, there is one more thing you can check. The rear of the planing surface of your hull may have a “hook” that is keeping the running surface down. Try putting a 6’ aluminum straightedge up to the bottom of the boat and see if there is a gap just forward of the transom. If there is, that could be your problem. Unfortunately on an aluminum boat there is not much that you can do about it. This goes along with the idea above of bending the “lip” up, which the straightedge will also check.

Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

First off welcome to the site ! Fish that area quite often and have seen some good flocks around there. I would get out and do some glassing in the area , especially around some picked corn fields. Right now they are wintered up but will break apart once spring gets closer. Maybe hit up a local bait store and ask around if anyone knows of a spot. Or look at the landowners list that received permits in that area. They legally have to grant permission to hunt there land but unfortunately a lot of landowners will tell you they are full even if there not Good luck in your search.

When i was there all could find was perch but i only fished for about 3-4 hours all weekend. Not sure on panfish but i know the walleye bit is still pretty good. I'm sure theres plenty of panfish to be had back there though to.

+1 here.
I miss the hills of SE MN but when I have birds walking through my yard it’s hard to leave Central MN.
Its not like they’re gonna be super easy but I’m trying to get my first with a bow, and that’s not easy. Not yet anyway. The more days I can get in, the better. And sticking around home makes THAT part easier.
When I first started hunting turkeys it took me three seasons to kill a bird. Then every year after that was a score with the shotgun for about 20 seasons maybe? I’m going into my second legitimate season of effort with my bow. Hoping two times is a charm.

I spent a little time last summer looking for weed walleyes in Niles Bay. About 10 minutes into my experiment I caught a chunky 22" on a spinner rig over a weedbed in about 10'. The weeds were growing about halfway to the surface but that fish had no problem smacking my bait. I'll keep experimenting this year.... can't wait for open water!

awesome feedback! thank you so much for the info! Ill get up ther next year, i dont want to keep any i just want to catch some nice eyes and northern.....hell, whatever! ive been in a sleeper 5 times on LOW and we only had one real good trip. upper red lake once in a sleeper caught 3 eyes in 3 days. i dont mind if i catch one or two fish, its all about the experience for me on the big water. but the girlfriend is a hard one to convince at times for a return trip if the fishing is slow. were headed to fairbault this weekend, i hope we get into something. thanks again guys! ill post a report on our trip. good luck on the ice!

Well who else is going after long beards this spring? I was drawn for season B again no surprise. There were surplus tags left as there were last couple years. Really like the new approach to not having to apply for the later seasons spreads the hunters out and gives guys like me the opportunity to get after them early Been out doing some scouting and been seeing some big wintering flocks one I was glassing other day had over 60 birds in it! They have really been working over the picked corn lately. Oh cant wait to hear the first gobble of the year

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Repairing Coleman Focus 3 / 5 / 10 / and certain model numbers for the focus 15.
If your coleman focus heater is in need of a rebuilt burner or other parts I can help.
I do supply parts and repair the above heaters including rebuilding burners for the heater.
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eklb@mediacombb.net

Pat,
July is my best time for walleyes in the weeds!
I did not cast spinner baits but did pull spinners with 1/2 crawler right along the edges in about 3' to 4' deep water.
We were so close to the boat with our lines that we could see our spinners and actually see the walleyes charge out of the weeds and grab our baits! FUN!!
Now, thanks to the rustys, those cabbage weed beds are gone.
Cliff